[brunetteoctober]

Hi! I just a cockatiel yesterday and need some information. Where can I find a good care sheet? I googled 'cockatiel care' but couldn't find a complete care sheet for those who know nothing about these birds. There were lots of brief ones, but I want one with some detail.

I have some questions too about the health of my new bird.

History (from what I was told):

He is 3 years old. I am his 4th owner. He loves women, but his last owner was male, and has been fed a strict seed only diet all of his life. His last owner was trying to add in pellets to his diet, but they are those colored ones that smell like food coloring and sugar. When I went to go look at him (I got him from a private owner) he was in a dark room, has a small cage, and the owner either grew pot (it comes with the area) or smoked it so much it saturated the house. The cage still smells (slightly) of mj and I spent 3 hours scrubbing that thing.

I took him to the vet today; I think he is severely under weight. He weighs 75 grams. I got his vet records, and the last time he was at the vet was last September where he weighed 85 grams. Even at 85, that’s bad, right?

Another thing is the diet. I have an idea of a good diet, but what do you recommend? What is on your menu for your bird? I want something organic, something not artificially colored, and I want to supplement with fresh live foods as well. His feet seem extremely dry. I’m pretty sure it’s a result of his diet, but what can I do for him? They are definitely dry, and look like they need to peel.

One last thing for now is he doesn't have an id band. How do I get one, where, and how do the work? Is there a data base that all birds are registered too, or is it something that the vet takes down, or you know so if it gets lost you can say 'that’s my bird!'?

Well, sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for all the help!

 

[Aly]

Hi and welcome!

No worries about the long post. I'm glad you care enough to ask and to save him! His last home sounds horrible. I also don't like the idea of them getting any processed foods such as those pellets. There are some that are not colored such as Zupreem Natural Diet, but again, they're processed foods. At 75grams he is pretty thin, I'm sure you see his chest bone sticking out at this point. A good seed diet, veggies, fruits and legumes sounds like the best thing for him. Just start introducing him to those. Check out our Food and Nutrition Section for more info.

As far as his feet, you did mention he had a vet visit so I am pretty sure if it was the case the vet would have mentioned it but, I'll mention it just in case. Extremely dry, crusty like feet *looking like they need to peel* might be a sign of scaly feet mites. Now, don't worry, if that is the case, it's nothing that you can catch and they pose no threat to you. They actually don't even live off the bird. A pic would help if you're able to take one.

As far as the leg band, he really doesn't need one. I actually prefer that they don't have one since in some cases it can cause irritation but I do believe you can get the vet to put on an open band or a microchip. I've never gotten it done on a bird though so you'll have to double-check that.

This is a great site to get real live advice but it's always good to read up on your own as well. A pretty good site that helped with my first tiel was http://cockatielcottage.com. Most of the info on there is very good with some very minor exceptions. When in doubt, feel free to ask.

Besides that, he sounds like he needs so TLC!

Anyways, hope that helped. Keep us updated!

 

[Bea]

Oh, i'm so glad he's with you now! Sounds like he's had a rough time so far. I would be replacing his cage with something large, that doesn't smell of pot. I'm certain he'd appreciate that greatly!

I'm with Aly on the diet, i choose not to include pellets in my tiels diet either because they're just not easy to come by here in Australia. Roudybush and Harrisons are both supposed to be really really good though, so if you can get them into his diet that's just another source of variety which can only be good. See if you can get him eating some cooked brown rice and lentils. I find these are good starter foods for seed-junkies as they're quite seed-like in appearance. If you can get him eating that then you can start mixing finely chopped veggies into it and hopefully get him trying some new things.

Did the vet give you any advice on how to increase his weight? Did he run any tests to see if there's an underlying health problem causing the low weight?

 

[brunetteoctober]

thanks for the help! i don't want to completely villainize (sp?) his last owner. despite the drugs, the guy really loved his bird. drugs are not looked upon negatively around here. its rare if you find a house that is without a couple plants (like mine). he recognized that he couldn't care for the bird and wanted better for him.

about the dry feet, the vet said she thought it was diet related. she gave him a vitamin booster shot, clipped his wings, nails, took his weight, and a fecal. she gave me a pamphlet on food, which was more of a brochure for a brand of food that i think i want to give him.

oh! i had some questions about bonding also, but i'll post there.

thanks again.

 

[xxxSpikexxx]

Iam glad you took him in Here is a website that I really like about birds http://www.birdchannel.com/ There is a training and behaviour section. I would get him a large new cage and some different kinds of perches and toys. Sounds like he deserves to be spoiled

 

[Sophia]

I am so relieved that he will have a better life with you I am not saying his previous owner didn't love him, but it sounds like he was kept in some bad conditions.

On the diet question, I agree with what Bea, and Aly have already said. Veggies would do him good, and get his strength up a little.

Good Luck!